Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, left, and Broncos coach John Fox have a similar background and now face each other in the Super Bowl. / Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK â?? John Fox and Pete Carroll spent their adult lives finding a way to the Super Bowl, a pair of defensive-minded head coaches in an era of offensive fireworks who have reached Sunday's ultimate game.

Fox's heart ailment nearly felled the Denver Broncos coach Nov. 2. And the twice-fired Carroll's NFL head-coaching dream appeared to fade in the late 1990s after the high-revving Seattle Seahawks coach was bounced by the New York Jets and New England Patriots.

And although so-called retread coaches are often bemoaned, Fox, 58, and Carroll, 62, are testament to the power of second, even third chances.

Fox, in his second head coaching job, tried to put off surgery for a congenital heart condition until after this season only to be forced to undergo the procedure Nov. 4. On Friday, the tough son of a Navy Seal likened his four-week absence to an ankle sprain.

"I had a great medical team,'' Fox said. "They gave me a great projection of what the rehab was going to be like, how fast I could get back to normalcy â?? that is coaching for me.

"Really, it was like a sprained ankle. It was going to be four weeks. I was back to work on a Monday, four weeks post-op from open heart surgery. I felt 150% better.''

Carroll did a double take.

"What a stud,'' he said. "He's comparing an open-heart surgery and being on his back to an ankle sprain. Congratulations on that. That's really amazing. Come on John. That's awesome.''

Carroll orchestrated his own stunning comeback.

"It really took me getting fired a couple times and getting kicked in the butt to get it to the point where it is now,'' Carroll said. "I hate learning the hard way, and I'm sure John does, too.''

Fox was fired as coach of the Carolina Panthers after a 2-14 season in 2010, ending a nine-year run there with a 78-74 record and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVIII, which he loss to the New England Patriots.

Carroll remains his fun-loving, highly-competitive self, letting players be themselves within the framework of team. It is a philosophy hardened in going 83-19 at the University of Southern California with a share of the 2003 national title (from the Associated Press) and the outright 2004 championship.

"All the people who thought Pete was a buffoon, a clown, where are they now?'' asked Pat Kirwan, Jets director of player administration during Carroll's 1994 one-and-done, 6-10 season. "He feels what he did at USC wasn't college football -- it was pro football at college.

"All he did at USC was run the program he did at New England and the Jets. He said, 'I'm going to do it here. Because they're going to let me.' "

Fox and Carroll share a common belief in smash-mouth run games and ruthless defense setting up the pass game.

Now they battle for ultimate validation.

"It's bigger than Pete,'' former Seahawks and current Indianapolis Colts backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck told USA TODAY Sports. "Winning this Super Bowl would be great for Seattle. That city has been through so much.

"The Seahawks were an expansion team. Seattle almost lost them to Los Angeles. (Seahawks owner) Paul Allen saved the day.

"They are one of 14 teams that haven't won a Super Bowl, came real close in 2005. They have a chip about East Coast bias, Jimmy Johnson calling Seattle 'South Alaska.' Pete Carroll is the face of that validation. He has his players speaking his language, playing his style.''

"I came up with Chuck, a defensive guy,'' Fox says of his 1989 stint as Noll's secondary coach "This is a prideful thing to be in this position and play in a game like this with such great history.''

It sure helps to have four-time league MVP Peyton Manning, crafting a record 55-touchdown season at 37.

"It's kind of funny. I look at John and I look at my good friend Tony Dungy and these are two defensive coaches who both get Peyton Manning as his career winds down with their franchises,'' says Herm Edwards, Fox's former San Diego State teammate and current ESPN analyst. "Tony wins a Super Bowl in 2006. And Foxy gets Peyton in Denver.

"It's always good for a defensive coach to have a Peyton Manning in your back pocket.''

Fox is fearless.

"People forget, John went to Tim Tebow after that 1-4 start in 2011 because he wasn't afraid to try anything to win,'' former Carolina running backs coach Jim Skipper said. "He's good and loose through the week. When it gets to game time, he's feverish about winning.''

And Carroll is that West Coast kid who is 62 going on 42, and who streams thoughts like an over-caffeinated college kid.

"Coach Carroll was way ahead of his time,'' says Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, who played two seasons for Carroll at USC. "He was ego-less and wasn't the dictator coach. He would come up to Carson Palmer and say, 'Hey, how you guys feel? And Carson would say, 'Coach, we're tired.' And Pete would say, 'No practice. Let's go out for burgers.' "

There are many reasons why Carroll is the ultimate player's coach.

When former Jets defensive end Dennis Byrd's career was cut short by a broken neck suffered in a 1992 game against Kansas City, the team's defensive coordinator was at his fallen player's bedside whenever possible.

"Any free moment Pete had, he was going to see Dennis," former Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Jeff Lageman said. "The saying of most coaches is 'Next man up.' Well, wait a minute. We're talking about a person going through a lot. Pete not only was he there for Dennis in any capacity he could. He knew a lot of people cared about Dennis and he handled it great.''

Now Carroll could be the new coaching model.

"If he's able to win the Super Bowl, more people will copy Pete Carroll's style,'' Hasselbeck said.